Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
- Messages
- 29,942
- Display Name
Display name:
iFlyNothing
Yesterday morning I thought it would be a good idea to fly down and visit the FSDO. This wasn't exactly spontaneous, as it was for my CFI checkride. The short version: I'm not a CFI yet, but I didn't fail (letter of discontinuance). Here's the story...
When you're doing a regular CFI check ride and you have to shoot an ILS into the airport where your local FSDO is, that might be an indication that you're not going to fly that day. Especially when you shoot the ILS down to 600 AGL to get there. But I had already taken the day off work, and I figured that if I didn't go, the weather would surely improve to the point where we could fly. Plus, we could get the oral out of the way.
The FAA examiner was a nice guy, and did give me every opportunity to fix the things I got wrong. We started off with him saying "I hate taking check rides, and I have to take 6 of them per year. So, I know what it's like sitting where you are, and I know it's not fun. It is, however, part of the game if you're going to fly." That was a good start. We then went over paperwork and my logbook, talked about some of my experience and flying background (as well as his), and then dove into the questioning part of it. The questioning part was pretty much him shooting questions off to me one after the other, and he stated at the beginning that he didn't want me looking things up, it was expected to be off the top of my head unless he asked otherwise. What surprised me was how most of the test was on my rote memorization skills, rather than any sort of understanding, application, and correlations of the concepts. In FOI training, rote memorization is considered the lowest level of learning. Unfortunately, rote memorization is not my strong suit, but understanding and application is.
I gave him a lesson on lazy eights. This is another area I have problems with. Give me someone who actually doesn't know something and I have no issues teaching. Give me someone who I know knows more about this stuff than I likely ever will, and it's virtually impossible for me to treat that person the same. I guess I just don't have enough of an imagination. The other issue is that for me to teach someone like that seems too much like talking down to that person, which I would see as disrespectful to someone who obviously knows far more than I do.
I've gone into every checkride feeling prepared, but convinced I was going to fail. So far, this is the fifth time (out of five) that I was wrong. I really, really hate check rides since it's an opportunity for someone in a position of authority to tell me I'm no good at something that I actually care about. Sure enough, I passed the oral. The weather taunted us, but overall didn't want to cooperate. He made the decision that we weren't going to fly, and it was the right one. While we could have gone out, we wouldn't have had sufficient altitude to do stalls and spins (he's assured me we'll go out and do spins, which is fine by me - I think they're fun). I was issued a letter of discontinuance stating that I had satisfactorily (FAA official term) passed the oral portion of the check ride, and now have 60 days to complete the remaining portions. We scheduled a return date at our first available time (which happened to be several weeks off, unfortunately), and I'll be flying back down then, and hopefully the weather will cooperate.
I filed my flight plan home and flew the 172 back to Williamsport, shooting my second ILS of the day (although this one was only down to 1500 AGL).
Obviously it's disappointing when you can't complete a lesson or checkride as hoped. The reality is that in five check rides over about 15 months, this is the first time that the weather has said "No" to me. That's not such a bad thing.
The CFI ride is, to date, the most draining test I've taken. The FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam I took towards the end of college was pretty draining, as were my instrument and multi check rides (the multi being effectively my private and instrument rides with a failed engine the whole time). I went home and relaxed on the couch for a few hours, spent a bit of time mowing the lawn, and then watched a movie. It should be hard, you have a great responsibility if you pass. One thing I've learned, though, is that when you take your driver's test (at least in New York City), the examiner wants to fail you. When you take your flying tests, the examiner wants to pass you. So, the odds are in your favor. You just have to do your part and show that you meet what's expected of you.
I've got a packed schedule over the next few weeks (I'll spend maybe a total of 24 hours at my house between now and August 11th), so I'll spend some time studying for the practical coming up. Once that's done, it'll be time for MEI and CFII.
When you're doing a regular CFI check ride and you have to shoot an ILS into the airport where your local FSDO is, that might be an indication that you're not going to fly that day. Especially when you shoot the ILS down to 600 AGL to get there. But I had already taken the day off work, and I figured that if I didn't go, the weather would surely improve to the point where we could fly. Plus, we could get the oral out of the way.
The FAA examiner was a nice guy, and did give me every opportunity to fix the things I got wrong. We started off with him saying "I hate taking check rides, and I have to take 6 of them per year. So, I know what it's like sitting where you are, and I know it's not fun. It is, however, part of the game if you're going to fly." That was a good start. We then went over paperwork and my logbook, talked about some of my experience and flying background (as well as his), and then dove into the questioning part of it. The questioning part was pretty much him shooting questions off to me one after the other, and he stated at the beginning that he didn't want me looking things up, it was expected to be off the top of my head unless he asked otherwise. What surprised me was how most of the test was on my rote memorization skills, rather than any sort of understanding, application, and correlations of the concepts. In FOI training, rote memorization is considered the lowest level of learning. Unfortunately, rote memorization is not my strong suit, but understanding and application is.
I gave him a lesson on lazy eights. This is another area I have problems with. Give me someone who actually doesn't know something and I have no issues teaching. Give me someone who I know knows more about this stuff than I likely ever will, and it's virtually impossible for me to treat that person the same. I guess I just don't have enough of an imagination. The other issue is that for me to teach someone like that seems too much like talking down to that person, which I would see as disrespectful to someone who obviously knows far more than I do.
I've gone into every checkride feeling prepared, but convinced I was going to fail. So far, this is the fifth time (out of five) that I was wrong. I really, really hate check rides since it's an opportunity for someone in a position of authority to tell me I'm no good at something that I actually care about. Sure enough, I passed the oral. The weather taunted us, but overall didn't want to cooperate. He made the decision that we weren't going to fly, and it was the right one. While we could have gone out, we wouldn't have had sufficient altitude to do stalls and spins (he's assured me we'll go out and do spins, which is fine by me - I think they're fun). I was issued a letter of discontinuance stating that I had satisfactorily (FAA official term) passed the oral portion of the check ride, and now have 60 days to complete the remaining portions. We scheduled a return date at our first available time (which happened to be several weeks off, unfortunately), and I'll be flying back down then, and hopefully the weather will cooperate.
I filed my flight plan home and flew the 172 back to Williamsport, shooting my second ILS of the day (although this one was only down to 1500 AGL).
Obviously it's disappointing when you can't complete a lesson or checkride as hoped. The reality is that in five check rides over about 15 months, this is the first time that the weather has said "No" to me. That's not such a bad thing.
The CFI ride is, to date, the most draining test I've taken. The FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam I took towards the end of college was pretty draining, as were my instrument and multi check rides (the multi being effectively my private and instrument rides with a failed engine the whole time). I went home and relaxed on the couch for a few hours, spent a bit of time mowing the lawn, and then watched a movie. It should be hard, you have a great responsibility if you pass. One thing I've learned, though, is that when you take your driver's test (at least in New York City), the examiner wants to fail you. When you take your flying tests, the examiner wants to pass you. So, the odds are in your favor. You just have to do your part and show that you meet what's expected of you.
I've got a packed schedule over the next few weeks (I'll spend maybe a total of 24 hours at my house between now and August 11th), so I'll spend some time studying for the practical coming up. Once that's done, it'll be time for MEI and CFII.
